NBA Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 11/11/15

James Harden looks to stay hot in another plus matchup against Brooklyn tonight.

If you've never played daily fantasy basketball before, it's time to start. Unlike traditional leagues, you're able to select the players you want on that specific day only, giving you a different squad to root for each and every NBA night.

Today's lineups can be found here. The information below is to help you understand why particular players are being picked, because we don't want you going into the night completely blind. We want to help you. Keep in mind, however, that things often change up until tip-off, so make sure you're refreshing the optimal lineups as close to the start of games as possible.

Let's get to it.

The Best of the Best

Blake Griffin - Griffin has really gotten off to a hot start through the first seven games of this season, averaging 28.6 points, 10 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 35.6 minutes per game. The Clippers have truly been running their offense through their star forward -- Griffin has accumulated a 30.6% Usage Rate -- and he has been incredibly efficient, ranking second in the NBA in Player Efficiency Rating (31.4) and third in our very own nERD metric (20.9). Tonight, the Clippers' big man gets the pleasure of facing off against old man Dirk Nowitzki and a Mavericks' frontcourt that has given up the second most fantasy points per game to opposing power forwards on the year. Griffin is our top overall projected player on the board tonight.

James Harden - After a relatively slow start to the season Harden seems to have gotten his groove back. Over his last four outings, the Rockets' star has posted 38.5 points, 5.5 boards, 5.5 dimes and 1.5 steals in a ridiculous 41 minutes of action per game. Harden currently leads the league with a 34.7% Usage Rate and should continue to see one of the heaviest workloads in the league as long as he is healthy. Houston has one of the highest implied team totals on the board tonight against a Nets team that has allowed the 12th most fantasy points per game to opposing shooting guards, which bodes well for the Rockets' star guard. Expect Harden to stay red hot tonight with another huge outing against the Nets.

Top Mid-Range Values

Ryan Anderson - Anthony Davis is doubtful to suit up tonight. If he were to miss tonight's game against Atlanta, Anderson would likely slide into the Pelicans' starting lineup. Anderson has quietly put together a very solid start to the 2015-16 season, amassing 17 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 31.1 minutes per game. With Davis sidelined, the Pelicans' sixth man should see a huge uptick in both minutes and usage as New Orleans looks to fill the void left by one of the best players on the planet. Although a matchup against the Hawks is less than ideal, they have allowed the 11th most fantasy points to opposing power forwards on the season. Anderson is dollar for dollar one of my favorite plays on the board at just $5,800 on FanDuel and $5,700 on DraftKings.

Tobias Harris - The Los Angeles Lakers have been one of my favorite teams to target against in daily fantasy all season long. They play terrible defense -- they have given up the third most points per game in the league (109.3) and rank 29th in Defensive Rating (109.9) -- and play at the seventh fastest pace in the league, which means any team playing against Los Angeles will have a lot of possessions against a sieve-like defense. Tonight, the Magic are fortunate enough to face off against the Lakers, which means pretty much all Orlando starters are in play and Harris is no exception. The Magic forward has averaged 14.8 points, 8 boards and 2.1 assists per game this season and should have little trouble taking advantage of a Lakers' defense that has given up the sixth most fantasy points per game to opposing small forwards and the third most to power forwards. With his price tag down to just $6,500 on FanDuel and $5,900 on DraftKings, Harris should provide great value at a very reasonable price.

Basement Ballers

Meyers Leonard - Leonard finally looks fully healthy and is starting to heat up. Over his last three games, the Blazers' big man has accumulated 14 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 31.3 minutes per game. He's starting to become a bigger part of the offense and is coming off a game in which he controlled the glass for a season-high 9 boards against the Nuggets. While he draws a less-than-stellar matchup against LaMarcus Aldridge and the Spurs, Leonard should see more than enough action to hit value at his very low price of just $4,500 on FanDuel and $4,200 on DraftKings.

Ishmael Smith - As I already mentioned, Anthony Davis is unlikely to play tonight. Jrue Holiday is also doubtful to suit up for the Pelicans, which means Smith could be the focal point of the New Orleans offense tonight for one of the most banged up teams in the NBA. The Pelicans' backup point guard has impressed when on the floor this season, averaging 12.1 points, 10.9 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals on a per-36 minute basis this season and could see close to that many minutes tonight for the short-handed pelicans. Look for Smith to dominate the ball in what is expected to be a high-scoring affair against the Hawks. He is an absolute steal at just $4,800 on DraftKings and $5,100 on FanDuel.